Galaxy class
Caption: A Galaxy-class starship. Type: Explorer Length: 642 meters Beam: 479 meters Draft: 138 meters Mass: 4,500,000 metric tons Decks: 42 Crew: 1,000+ (officers, enlisted, and civilian) Maximum Speed: Warp 9.6 (12 hours) Armament: 12 Type-X phaser arrays; 3 photon torpedo launchers Defenses: Deflector shields Caption: A Galaxy-class starship in drydock. Launched in the 2360s, the Galaxy class was the largest and most powerful Federation starship class of her time. Named after the [[USS Galaxy|USS Galaxy]], the prototype vessel, the Galaxy class was designed to be able to accommodate families as well as Starfleet personnel. Whilst earlier ships permitted the immediate family of officers and crew to stay aboard the vessel, the Galaxy class was the first specifically tailored for civilian habitation. The most notable Galaxy-class starship was the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)|USS Enterprise-D]], which served as the flagship of the Federation. :The ''Galaxy-class starship was designed by Andrew Probert. His proposed design was only slightly altered by Gene Roddenberry, who placed the Bridge back on top of the saucer section, and increased the length of the warp nacelles.'' History The Galaxy-class starships were the largest and most powerful in Starfleet during the 2360s and early 2370s, after which time they were exceeded by the ''Sovereign''-class heavy cruisers in shear power. Only six initial ships were constructed and launched out of a yard order of twelve; the remaining hulls were kept in storage until needed. The first loss of a Galaxy-class starship occured only two years after their initial deployment, when in 2365, the [[USS Yamato|USS Yamato]] was destroyed by an Iconian computer virus. (TNG: "Contagion") The [[USS Odyssey|USS Odyssey]] was then destroyed 5 years later by a Jem'Hadar kamikaze attack on its engineering hull. The [[USS Enterprise-D|USS Enterprise]] herself was then lost less than a year later when a plot by the Duras sisters Lursa and B'Etor gave them access to the ship's shield frequency, allowing them to penetrate its shields with their Bird of Prey's disruptors and photon torpedoes. Development Numerous technologies implemented on Galaxy class starships were tested aboard earlier prototype vessels, including the Oberth class [[USS Pegasus|USS Pegasus]], in the 2350s. (TNG: "The Pegasus") The Galaxy class was intended to be a successor to the ''Ambassador'' class design, which was already falling behind technologically. A general Explorer, with the ability to undertake multimission assignments without the need for support, the Galaxy class was intended to be a semi-autonomous 'city in space', able to go many years without needing major refit or resupply. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual) The Galaxy class was designed and developped at the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards. Dr. Leah Brahms, a member of the Theoretical Propulsion Group, was a major contributor to the class' warp drive systems. (TNG: "Booby Trap") The vessel had two hull sections, and was capable of reversible saucer separation, both sections having independant flight and combat capabilities. This allowed the civilian population to be taken out of danger in the event of a combat situation. However, the loss of combat power for the secondary hull, and the easy target presented by the primary hull made separation a difficult option to pursue, and so it was rarely used. The inclusion of families among the crew later proved to be a questionable policy, following the loss of the Yamato with all hands. Dominion War By the beginning of the Dominion War, three Galaxy-class starships had already been lost. Starfleet needed more ships to match the Dominion war machine, and the Galaxy class was amongst those whose construction was accelerated, to fill the fleets out with heavy combatants. These starships were completed without most of the fittings of their peacetime counterparts - some ships were sent into battle with only the facilities needed for defensive and offensive capabilities, and minimal crew support. Galaxy-class starships saw action in many of the major fleet actions of the war, including Operation Return (where the class also played a major strategic role), both the first and second battles of Chin'toka, and the Battle of Cardassia. Unlike their predecessors, these ships performed admirably in heavy combat, partly due to upgrades Starfleet made after their predecessors' untimely demises. Interior With the presence of families and non-Starfleet personnel aboard, the interior of the Galaxy class is mostly designed for their comfort and the wellbeing of the crew in general. Whilst the major command sections maintain form and functionality above all, there remains a much more 'relaxed' feel about the design of many of these areas. Main Bridge The Main Bridge of the Galaxy class is located on Deck 1 of the saucer section. As with most starships, the main bridge was modular and could be completely replaced with another bridge if the need called for it. Different Galaxy-class starships had different bridge designs. The following describes the bridge design used in most of the original six Galaxy-class starships, including the ''USS Enterprise''. The forward bulkhead is dominated by the main viewscreen. Directly behind this are located the Ops and Conn positions. At the very centre of the room is the command area - the captain's chair at the centre, flanked by the chairs of his first officer to the right, and an additional officer (for example, ship's counselor) to the left. Smaller backless seats are located on the edges of the command area, for other officers to sit, should the need arise. Some variants of the Galaxy class eschew this design for a common command 'bench'. The tactical console, positioned directly behind the captain, is located in the wooden handrail that encircled the rear half of this central command area. The aft bulkhead carries several auxiliary consoles: Mission Ops, Science, Environmental and Engineering, although these could be customised as needed. The Bridge is also equipped with a food replicator. By necessity, the bridge has easy access to and from all other important areas of the ship. In all, there are six doors leading from the room. Moving clockwise from the main viewscreen, the first door, level with, and to the right of Conn, leads directly to the Battle Bridge emergency turbolift. At the rear left of the Bridge, a shallow alcove contains two doors, one of which contains a head, the other to a corridor leading to the Observation Lounge. The door at the rear right of the room opens onto a standard turbolift. Continuing around, the fifth door leads into the Captain's Ready Room, the sixth to another turbolift. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint") Caption: The Main Bridge. Caption: Observation Lounge. As the Main Bridge houses so many critical systems, various emergency enviromental and power backups are included so that duty personnel can continue to work for up to 72 hours, in the event of a major shutdown or incapacitation of the vessel. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual) :The Enterprise bridge set was one of the first things developped for ''Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was initially designed by Andrew Probert, then finalized and built under the direction of production designer Herman Zimmerman. Working blueprints were drafted by set designer Les Gobrugge. Since the second season, set design (including Enterprise interiors) has been supervised by production designer Richard James. For the second season, some minor changes were made to the bridge.'' :The theory of different bridge designs for different Galaxy-class starships comes from ''DS9:"The Jem'Hadar", where the USS Odyssey featured a completely different bridge design from that of the USS Enterprise.'' Observation Lounge The Observation Lounge was located directly behind the Main Bridge. The room was usually used as a conference room for the vessel's senior staff. It featured large, aft-facing windows that offered a spectacular view of the back of the starship and space beyond. A conference table with seating for ten people was the main feature of the room, with LCARS screens on the port and starboard walls for information displays and retrieval. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint") Main Engineering Primarily located on Deck 36, Main Engineering is an open-plan facility, directly accessible from the corridor. Consisting of two levels, it houses the vessel's warp core and primary engineering support systems. The corridor bulkhead houses the Master Situation Monitor. Inside the main section, the master systems display, affectionately known as the "pool table", is the operational focus of the room. Caption: Engineering, forward view. Caption: Engineering, aft view. :The tablelike master systems display console in the middle of Main Engineering is actually the same unit, refurbished, that was used by Admiral Cartwright and company in Starfleet Command in the movie ''Star Trek: The Voyage Home. Most Star Trek production staffers have taken to informally referring to it as "the pool table".'' Beyond this, heading towards the warp core, the Chief Engineer's office and several support consoles are located on the left, and the Assistant Chief Engineer's console on the right. These form part of the bulkhead protecting the main part of Engineering from the warp core. Access to the upper level, a circular area surrounding the warp core, can be found by a ladder on the left of the warp core or an elevator on the right. The upper level has access to many auxilary sytems, as well as egress points to deck 35. (TNG: "Where No One Has Gone Before") In the event of a major failure, such as an imminent warp core breach, Main Engineering is equipped with isolation doors to seal off various sections of the facility - usually to seal off the warp core prior to detonation or ejection. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual) :The studio initially thought that very little use would be made of the engine room in the new ''Enterprise. In fact, it was originally not planned to build the set for the first episode, "Encounter at Farpoint". The problem was that the nature of television production made it very likely that if this major set was not built for the pilot, it would probably never be done. When Gene Roddenberry discovered this omission, he immediately wrote a scene in the engine room, thus justifying the very large expenditure to build it for "Farpoint".'' Medical Facilities Caption: Sickbay. Caption: Chief Medical Officer's office. The Galaxy class houses two sickbay facilities on Deck 12. The primary facility has two intensive-care wards, a laboratory, a nursery, and the Chief Medical Officer's office. The secondary facility has two dedicated surgery suites, a physical therapy facility, a nursery, and a null-gravy therapy wards. The primary sickbay is located on the port side of the vessel, and the secondary facility on the starboard side. Aid Stations Like on any large starship, the Galaxy class has nurse stations around the vessel, almost on each deck. These areas are staffed on a rotating schedule during cruise mode, and during higher alert status, they may all be activated. They provide first aid to injured personnel and become quick essential command posts during situations were the ship is damaged. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual) Counselor's Office The ship's counselor has her own office, located near the main Sickbay, where crewmembers in need of emotional support can meet with the counselor. (TNG: "Hollow Pursuits") Crew Quarters The crew quarters of the Galaxy class are located in the ship's saucer section. This provides safety for non-essential personnel and civilians in the event of saucer separation during combat. Personnel assigned to Galaxy class starships for periods greater than six months are permitted to reconfigure their quarters within hardware, volume, and mass limits. Individuals assigned for shorter periods are generally restricted to standard quarter configuration. After a period of six months, crewmembers are permitted to bring family aboard the ship and a slightly larger room is allocated for them. Crewmembers with families can also request that their living quarters be combined or enlarged with nearby rooms to create a single, larger dwelling. Quarters can also be configured to custom environmental settings. (TNG: "Genesis") :Most of the living quarters seen on the show feature an angled ceiling into which are set several virtical windows, through which one can see the stars. These windows match those seen on the upper surface of the ship's saucer module. Since there are many hundreds of such windows on the ''Enterprise miniature, there are presumably hundreds of such living units on board the ship. The same five-room set is redressed with different furniture and divided up in different ways to serve as the living quarters of most of the regular characters. There is also a "junior officers' quarters" set, which does not have the dramatic ceiling windows. This set was originally built as Captain Kirk's quarters for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, and would seem to suggest that Starfleet has indeed upgraded its crew accommodations in the years between.'' Standard Crew Quarters Standard living quarters are provided for both Starfleet non-commissioned officers and ensigns. They are expected to share their room with another crewmate, due to space restrictions aboard the starship. Two non-commissioned officers and two ensigns are assigned to a suite. Accommodations include two bedrooms with standard beds, connected by a living/working area. A washroom with sonic shower is located off each bedroom. A food replicator and a personal holographic viewer are located in the living area. Some quarters are shared amongst four - two bedrooms containing twin beds or bunks. (TNG: "Lower Decks") Officers' Quarters Starfleet personnel from the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade up to Commander are given one set of quarters for themselves. In addition, department heads and their assistants are granted such privileges as well, in an effort to provide a private environment to perform off-duty work. Officers' accommodations typically include a small bathroom, a bedroom with a standard bed, a living/working area, a food replicator, an ultrasonic shower, personal holographic viewer, and provisions for pets. (TNG: "Genesis") Caption: Executive Quarters. Caption: VIP Quarters. Executive Quarters The Captain and Executive Officer of a Galaxy class starship have special quarters, located on Deck 8. These quarters are much more luxurious than standard Officers' Quarters, but share the same basic amenities. The second officer and senior staff have similar quarters, with less area, generally between that of the Executive Quarters and the Officers' Quarters. (TNG: "Where Silence Has Lease") VIP/Diplomatic Guest Quarters The Galaxy class starship is a symbol for Federation authority, and a key tool in dealing with other races and cultures. As a result, there is often the need to transport or accommodate Very Important Persons, diplomatics, or ambassadors. Special quarters are set aside for their comfort. Whilst they share the amenities common to Officers' Quarters and Executive Quarters, these VIP facilities are larger still. (TNG: "Too Short A Season") Science Facilities The Galaxy class starship houses over one hundred separate scientific research labs. However, depending upon current internal arrangement, the ship can have more. At the same time, all labs are specifically designed for adaptability. Very few of the research labs will remain under the same discipline of science of more than six months. Most share the same design, only a few have extremely specialized equipment. There are also an aquatic lab and an arboretum aboard. (TNG: "Genesis") Stellar Cartography The vessel also houses a Stellar Cartography bay, located on Deck 10. The lab is served by a direct electro-plasma system power feed from the impulse engines. All information is directed to the bridge and can be displayed on any console or the main viewscreen. (Star Trek: Generations) Cetacean Labs Also known as "the dolphin tanks", the Cetacean Labs are home to several Earth dolphins. (TNG: "The Perfect Mate") :These labs are shown within the saucer section of the ''Star Trek: The Next Generation USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D Blueprints cutaway. While the area itself was unfortunately never seen on the show, their existence has been confirmed in two episodes. In TNG: "The Perfect Mate", Geordi refers to "the dolphin tanks". The other example is in TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise", where an officer is heard being paged to the "cetacean ops".'' Caption: Ten Forward. Caption: The bar. Caption: An inactive holodeck. Caption: One of the corridors. Caption: The fencing room. Caption: One of the schools. :Whether or not the dolphins are actual crewmembers is somewhat unclear, however. ''TNG: "The Perfect Mate" seemed to imply the tanks were more of a zoo, but their presence on the warship Enterprise would imply that they have an important function in the ship's operation.'' Ten Forward Located in the forward most section of the saucer section, on Deck 10. The social center of the ship, Ten Forward has a battery of recreational games including three-dimensional chess, as well as a fully stocked bar carrying syntheholic beverages. The replicators are also able to produce other food and drinks for the crew to enjoy this relaxed social setting. Its large, panoramic windows permit a staggering view of the ship's passage through space. (TNG: "Q Who?") Other Recreational and Crew Facilities Being the largest vessel (by volume) in Starfleet, vessels of the Galaxy class have been designed for scientific and tactical usage. However, it is realized that the stress of operating at such a high level of efficiency on a ship that is built for deep-space exploration can be dangerous, so there are several recreational facilities on board. Holodecks The Galaxy class carries several holodecks, are located on Deck 11. Holosuites Smaller versions of the standard holodeck, these are designed for individual usage. There are twenty holosuites on board, located on Decks 12 and 33. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual) Phaser Range Located on Deck 12. A person stands in the center of the phaser range room, with no light except for the circle in the middle of the floor that the person is standing in. Coloured circular lights, approximately the size of a human hand, whirl across the walls, and the person aims and fires at selected targets. After completing a round, the amounts of hits and misses, along with the percentage of accuracy is announced by the ship's computer. There are at least 15 levels of difficulty, and the range can be customised for two-player competition. The phaser range is also used by security officers to train personnel in marksmanship. (TNG: "A Matter of Honor") Fencing Room There is a seperate fencing room aboard the Galaxy class starship. Aboard the USS Enterprise-D, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, of French origin, usually fenced with fellow crewmembers. (TNG: "We'll Always Have Paris") Weight Room The weight room is located on Deck 12, next to the phaser range. This room has full body-building and exercise apparatus available for crew's disposal. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual) Educational Facilities There are several small schools located throughout the ship (TNG: "When the Bough Breaks"), and there is at least one specialized workshop aboard (TNG: "Masks"). Shuttlebays There are three Shuttlebays aboard each Galaxy class starship. Shuttelbay One is located on Deck 4, Shuttlebay Two and Three are on Deck 12. The Galaxy class contains the latest in Starfleet shuttle and runabout designs. A space-air traffic control room, knows as Flight Ops, controls the Shuttlebay. This is located against the forward wall of the bay, next to the exit for the turbolift. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual) Ships of the Class *[[USS Challenger|USS Challenger]] (NCC-71899) *[[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)|USS Enterprise]] (NCC-1701-D) *[[USS Galaxy|USS Galaxy]] (NCC-70637) *[[USS Magellan|USS Magellan]] (NCC-?????) *[[USS Odyssey|USS Odyssey]] (NCC-71832) *[[USS Trinculo|USS Trinculo]] (NCC-71867) *[[USS Venture|USS Venture]] (NCC-71854) *[[USS Yamato|USS Yamato]] (NCC-71807) References *''Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual''; Rick Sternbach, Michael Okuda, 1991. ISBN 1-85283-340-8. * TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds" * TNG: "Force of Nature" * DS9: "Emissary" * DS9: "The Jem'Hadar" * DS9: "Call to Arms" * DS9: "Favor the Bold" * DS9: "The Sacrifice of Angels" * DS9: "Tears of the Prophets" * DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil" * DS9: "What You Leave Behind"